Episode 56: Oh, My Pancreas

September 13th, 2013 | Robin

Having survived his epic three weekends, three conventions journey into the heart of geekdom, Ken returns to issue a Travel Advisory on his final leg, which took him to the newly de-asterisked DragonCon.

In How to Write Good we consider discipline, routine, and various techniques to keep the productivity flowing at the keyboard.

Then Ken and Robin Recycle Audio, with the first of two excerpts from the Gen Con GUMSHOE and investigative roleplaying panel.

Finally we give the weary Consulting Occultist a topic he should be able to do while standing on his head—those diffusely mystical purveyors of alchemical imagery, the Rosicrucians.

Temp

Special thanks to this episode’s lead sponsor, Genesis of Legend Publishing, and itsSpark RPG.

This entry was posted on September 13th, 2013 at 12:45 pm and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I suspect it’s a glitch at my end, but my podcast cut of at 1:11:07, where Robin was mentioning the Charles Portus novel. You might want to check to make sure that the problem is not at your end but is indeed at mine. (I was listening in the popup player.)

Apropos of nothing, I noticed in my most recent Story Games Weekly E-zine that Pelgrane was looking for playtesters for TimeWatch, a Pelgrane joint that sounds like the Ken’s Time Machine expansion for Gumshoe.
Having not yet listened to Episode #56, perhaps you have already mentioned it.

Another great episode. I particularly enjoyed the discussion on your writing techniques.

Follow-up question about the Rosicrucians: is there some connection between them and the Caribbean? I used to live a few blocks away from one of their mysterious offices (cheap vertical blinds always closed in the windows with a few framed flyers along the bottom and a picture of Nefertiti) and whenever there was some kind of gathering, it was always West Indian people. They were older and dressed somewhat formally. I always wondered what went on in there. This was in Manhattan, near Union Square.

If I may suggest a possible topic for consulting occultist, I just learned more about Victoria Woodhull, spiritualist suffragette, first female presidential candidate and spooky eugenics enthusiast. Tell us more!

I might be on an island, but in “Ken and Robin recycle audio” you mention your assumption that your listeners don’t want to hear a booth pitch on GUMSHOE, but strangely enough, that’s just what I’m looking for.

I found the podcast due to being a longtime Feng Shui fan. I’m loving the podcast, but still haven’t quite figured out what GUMSHOE is. Perhaps the booth pitch equivalent is back in the archives further back than iTunes displays?

GUMSHOE is a roleplaying system meant primarily for investigative genres, where even if you fail rolls you have enough basic clues to solve the mystery. It’s meant to address the issues like, “Oh, the guy with +10 in Nature rolled a critical failure and now you’ll never know that the sudden appearance of whippoorwills means there is a Dark God’s avatar nearby.” Versions exist that handle superheroes (Mutant City Blues), space opera (Ashen Stars), spy thrillers with vampires (Night’s Black Agents) and horror in several flavours. (I’m probably missing some.)

It is not primarily for combat. And the fact that the players have enough information does not mean that they will put it together correctly; they just have it.